SEASON 2 EPISODE 4

Who Gets To Experiment?

For The Culture

Australia is full of white chefs who often receive critical acclaim for cooking cuisines they have no personal connection to, while migrant chefs are expected to stay in their lane. Why do some chefs get the creative freedom to experiment while others are seen as gatekeepers of tradition? Who is allowed to play and innovate? Jess Ho chats with chef Eun Hee An, owner of Moon Mart, to examine the structural barriers that limit who gets to cook “their” food and have it taken seriously.

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Published 9 April 2026 10:36am

Updated 9 April 2026 10:46am

Presented by Jess Ho

Source: SBS

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Australia is full of white chefs who often receive critical acclaim for cooking cuisines they have no personal connection to, while migrant chefs are expected to stay in their lane. Why do some chefs get the creative freedom to experiment while others are seen as gatekeepers of tradition? Who is allowed to play and innovate? Jess Ho chats with chef Eun Hee An, owner of Moon Mart, to examine the structural barriers that limit who gets to cook “their” food and have it taken seriously.

I do think I will be a little bit more ambitious, and be a little bit more bold, because I realised that there are lots of people who actually are interested.

Eun Hee An

Untitled design (2).png — Chef Eun Hee An (left) and Jess Ho outside Moon Mart.

I think that's [why] every chef suffers... when they create dishes, I don't think everyone can make it…perfect in one go. But I think that's also the beauty of how you create dishes.

Eun Hee An